The Latest: Trump begins holiday after signing tax bill

President Donald Trump shows off the tax bill after signing it in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, Dec. 22, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times local):

4:10 p.m.

President Donald Trump is in Florida celebrating the holidays and a much-needed political victory.

Before departing for his Mar-a-Lago estate, Trump signed the $1.5 trillion tax overhaul into law. He also put off a government shutdown by signing a temporary spending bill.

The tax cut is a long-held Republican goal. Starting next year, the new law will give big cuts to corporation and wealthy Americans and more modest reductions to other families.

Trump pitches the tax overhaul as a win for the middle class, insisting that even though polling indicates the tax cut is unpopular, “the numbers will speak” for themselves.

The tax law is the largest since 1986, but far from the biggest ever, as the president repeatedly claims. It’s also projected to add to the nation’s debt.

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12:15 a.m.

President Donald Trump says he’s learned a lot about Washington, partly by getting to know members of Congress. Asked whether he has any regrets over his first 11 months, he shook his head no.

The president spoke as he signed a $1.5 trillion tax overhaul that marks his first major legislative achievement. He said he ordered up the last-minute Oval Office event because news coverage questioned whether he would sign the bill into law by Christmas.

The legislation provides generous cuts for corporations and the wealthiest Americans, along with smaller ones for middle class and low-income families.

It also ends fines for people who don’t carry health insurance. That’s a major change but far from end of “Obamacare,” as Trump has suggested.

The new tax law also could swell the national debt over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

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11 a.m.

President Donald Trump has signed into law a $1.5 trillion tax overhaul package.

Trump touted the size of the tax cut, declaring to reporters in the Oval Office before he signed it Friday that “the numbers will speak.”

The president said he was going to wait to sign it until after Jan. 1 but changed his mind.

The legislation provides generous cuts for corporations and the wealthiest Americans and smaller ones for the middle class and low-income families.

It is the first major overhaul of the nation’s tax laws since 1986, but far from the largest tax cuts in American history as the president claims. Politically, it marks the Republicans’ first major legislative accomplishment of Trump’s presidency.

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10:30 a.m.

President Donald Trump says he’s getting ready to sign into law a $1.5 trillion tax overhaul package. It provides generous cuts for corporations and the wealthiest Americans and smaller ones for the middle class and low-income families.

Trump tweeted that he’ll sign the law in the Oval Office before jetting off to his Florida estate for Christmas.

It is the first major overhaul of the nation’s tax laws since 1986, but far from the largest tax cuts in American history as the president claims. Politically, it marks the Republicans’ first major legislative accomplishment of Trump’s presidency.

Some estimates say the cuts could add to the nation’s soaring deficit.